Wishes Are Kisses...Under the Mistletoe!

I think this sentiment makes sense (maybe?) I had originally written "May the one You Wish Give You a Kiss... Under the Mistletoe!" But I quickly decided that it made zero sense (and couldn't have been grammatically correct.) :0) This has been one of those weeks where things almost fall into place, but something is off or missing. I am not pleased with these brads, but the layout needed something and they were all I had. The little suckers are cantankerously difficult to set straight. I put 'em on there anyhow, since this is a practice card. I need to go get more appropriate (round and darker?) ones at Michael's.

I love this "Oh so Lovely" hostess set and thought to myself why not make the berry stamp into mistletoe by putting it upside down. Of course, I didn't have the right coloured ribbon, but I did make a happy discovery that the satin ribbon from Michael's (the uber-cheap stuff) dies really easily. Now I can make custom satin ribbon in S.U. colours for cheap cheap cheap!

Other ingredients in this card: Background Stamp: "The Snowflake Spot" (current S.U. set) stamped onto the "Sage Shadow" card in in "Whisper White" craft ink. The berries are embossed using "Chocolate Chip" craft ink with clear embossing powder. Then I mixed reinkers to create custom greens: The berries are just barely tinted with a blend of "Blue Bayou" and a hint of "Certain Celery" reinkers (very well-watered down.) I used a concentrated mix of "Blue Bayou" and "Mellow Moss" for the leaves (varying the concentration of colour for shading.) After the leaves were dry, I put crystal effects on them to make 'em look glossy. The wash that I painted around the stem etc... with is that mix of "Blue Bayou" and "Mellow Moss" that I used on the leaves but well-diluted.

The red paper is just S.U.'s "Paisley" background stamp (a current stamp that's my absolute fave!!!) I just used classic ink in "real Red" onto "Bravo Burgundy;" How bad am I using retired colours? I stocked up big time. The sentiment is printed on "Naturals White" cardstock from a word document (in "Garamond" font 18 point italics--a custom dark brown.) Wish I had more variety of font styles and colours!

Have a great day,
:0) Mel